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Erica Irick, Jade Hughes and Melissa Chambers scored in double-figures for the second straight game, but that would not be enough as the College of Charleston women's basketball team fell, 66-50, to the Morehead State Eagles Monday night at Johnson Arena in Morehead, Ky.
With the win, MSU moves to 2-0 to begin the year for first time since 2002-2003. College of Charleston fell to 1-1.
The Lady Eagles led by as many as 16 (34-18) in the first half and as many as 17 (42-25) in the final half before the Cougars rallied to trim the margin to just five (43-38) with 11:13 left in the game. Morehead led 53-43 with 5:29 remaining but went on an 11-4 run to move ahead 64-50 with just 1:27 left in the game. Seven of the 11 points came from the free throw line, including three key charity tosses by Gearhart.
Junior Jessie Plante also reached double figures for the second straight game, dropping in 13 points, while sophomore guard Anitha Smith-Williams came off the bench for 12 points, four assists, six rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes. Junior Holly Williams led the Lady Eagles with 11 rebounds, her second consecutive double-figure rebounding night. Junior center LaKrisha Brown, who scored 24 points in the season opener, was hampered by foul trouble and was limited to nine points and seven rebounds.
For College of Charleston, Irick came off the bench for a team high 14 points, while Hughes tallied 12 and Chambers tossed in 10. Hughes also went six-for-six from the free throw line to take her streak up to 14 in a row.
The Lady Eagles again won the battle of the boards, claiming 44 rebounds to the Cougars' 34. The Lady Eagles also shot 76 percent from the free throw line, including six-of-six in the first half. The College of Charleston was limited to nine free throws.
For the game, the Lady Eagles hit on 40 percent of their shots from the field (21-of-53) and turned the ball over 18 times. The Cougars recorded 12 steals, including seven in a second half that saw them play almost the entire 20 minutes in a full-court press defense. MSU came up with eight steals and forced 20 Cougar miscues.
The Lady Eagles return to the court next Monday, Nov. 28 for a 7 p.m. game against visiting Kentucky Christian University. The Cougars travel to Georgia Tech, Nov. 23rd for a 7:00 PM game.
